Development of Chemical-free Egg Shell Surface Decontamination Methods Through Electro Nano-spray

鸡蛋和蛋制品被广泛消费。虽然鸡蛋是许多营养物质的极好来源，但它们也可能携带沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌等食源性病原体。2003年至2009年，加拿大报告的人感染肠炎沙门氏菌病例的年发病率增加了63%，这表明禽类产品(鸡蛋和鸡肉)的消费是致病原因之一。因此，控制鸡蛋和鸡肉行业的微生物污染将有助于解决安全问题。目前，洗蛋是去除蛋壳表面污垢和微生物的标准程序，一般使用热水和化学物质来有效杀灭广泛的病原体。然而，用于清洗的大量水和可能在壳体表面沉积的化学品表明，需要开发环境友好、不含化学物质和低成本的表面去污工艺。在本项目中，将开发一种基于电纳米喷雾技术的贝壳鸡蛋去污新工艺，并从该工艺中产生纳米级水滴。将评估纳米液滴的微生物灭活效率和对鸡蛋质量的影响。该项目取得的初步成果将为鸡蛋行业在更大规模的生产中采用这种新的去污工艺提供技术指导。

Eggs and egg products are widely consumed. Although eggs are an excellent source of many nutrients, they could also be carriers of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli. A 63% increase in annual incidence of Salmonella enteritidis human cases was reported in Canada from 2003 to 2009, which identified the consumption of poultry products (eggs and chickens) as one of the causes. Hence, control of microbial contamination in the egg and chicken industry will assist in addressing safety concerns. At present, egg washing is the standard procedure to remove dirt and microbes from the shell surface, which generally uses hot water and chemicals to effectively destroy a wide spectrum of pathogenic organisms. However, the large amount of water used for washing and the potential deposition of chemicals onto the shell surface indicate a need to develop environmentally friendly, chemical free, and low-cost surface decontamination processes. In this project, a novel decontamination process for shell eggs will be developed based on electro nano-spray techniques, from which nano-sized water droplets are generated. Microbial deactivation efficiency and impacts on egg quality of nano-sized droplets will be evaluated. The primary results obtained from this project will provide technical guidance for the egg industry to adopt this new decontamination process in larger scale operations.